


Boil Over

by JaziandCo



Series: Secrets - Shadowhunters (TV) [8]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: 1.10 Ficlet, F/M, Gen, Original Character(s), Trans Male Character, transgender alec lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-01 17:23:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11491098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaziandCo/pseuds/JaziandCo
Summary: And with that, she let them lead her away, Alec’s outstretched arm falling down by his side. Good. Maybe he’d realize his neat little world where everything was black and white didn’t exist.





	1. Isabelle

Isabelle wanted to strangle her older brother. For multiple reasons, but mostly because he was showing his Lightwood blood in his refusal to waver once his mind was made up. Alec and Maryse might have a strained relationship, but he was _definitely_ her child.

 

He was also actively ruining his life. Marrying _Lydia_ , who was, first of all, very much not his type in the worst ways possible. And second of all, had sent their parents back to Idris under suspicion of being in league with Valentine. And, Izzy knew it was irrational, maybe even a little unfair, but part of her blamed Lydia for how hard it’d been to learn that their parents _had_ , at one point, been traitors.

 

She was avoiding her brother, and his _fiance_ , by throwing herself into work for the Institute- filing paperwork, reviewing the forensics from the two Forsaken corpses... and trying not to think of her relationship problems with Meliorn in the process. The plan to free him had gone off without a hitch, but he’d still insisted they not return to what they’d been before.

 

Her thoughts drifted to happier times spent in the Seelie’s company- and in his arms- which she would later blame for her not seeing Lydia coming and making herself scarce. In hindsight, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. She knew this was coming.

 

“Isabelle Lightwood, you are under arrest for high treason against the Clave.” Lydia’s order cut through Izzy’s memories of her ex-lover’s _varied_ skillset.

 

Alec had tried to cut in as Raj and one of Lydia’s own forced her arms behind her back. She let them without a fuss- she knew this was the risk she’d taken. It was worth it; Jace and Clary free and Meliorn safe. But Lydia- and Raj, had revealed their evidence was circumstantial at best. She’d known about their plan for the faerie and she was known to frequent his bed, but not actual proof she’d been there that night.

 

Much like how they’d been completely on board to torture and possibly kill a Downworlder because he _might_ have had information they wanted. Typical.

 

And that’s what didn’t keep her from voicing her true thoughts. “You know what, Lydia,” she spat, “You’re no better than Valentine. At least he told Downworlders to their faces that he wanted them all dead. You hide behind Clave Law.” Maybe Alec wasn’t the only Lightwood with a temper- but it was satisfying to see a flash of pain on Lydia’s pretty face.

 

“I don’t _hide_ behind the Law, Isabelle,” the other woman returned with just as much venom, “I simply follow it. It’s what protects us from the worst case scenario; Shadowhunters fighting other Shadowhunters.”

 

“Lydia.” Oh, and _now_ her brother was going to try and defend her, after the earful she’d received from him the previous night, “If she’s convicted, she’ll be de-runed and banished. I can’t let th-”

 

“Don’t,” Izzy hissed at him, and the hurt in his eyes was worth it too, “it’s not your fight.”

 

And with that, she let them lead her away, Alec’s outstretched arm falling down by his side. Good. Maybe he’d realize his neat little world where everything was black and white didn’t exist.

 

They put her on house arrest in her room, placing Raj at the door to act as a guard. She’d liked him well enough, but she knew he was a Law-first kind of guy. There would be no convincing him to bend the rules and let her back out ‘just this once’. She was stuck. But, she realized, she was also content.

 

She’d made her bed. Now she’d lay in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, your words of encouragement are very appreciated.
> 
> Beta'd by the lovely BiconBane


	2. Lydia

Lydia was more like her fiance than she’d realized. She had noticed that Alec would park himself in the training room whenever upset or overwhelmed. Sometimes for hours. Sometimes until he was bleeding. Sometimes until someone (usually his sister) had to drag him out and use an  _ iratze _ on him.

 

She also found the process cathartic, and, to be honest, she absolutely needed the distraction. Alec had to be furious. Izzy certainly was. Maryse and Robert were sure to spark a blood feud over all this with the Branwells- first their Institute, then their dau-  _ son _ , and  _ then _ their daughter.

 

She found she didn’t regret it though. Not- the involving herself with Alec at least. Arresting Izzy had been orders. That was her job. She hadn’t liked it, but there was nothing she could do about it. She’d even apologized before carrying on with the arrest. Being engaged to Alec, though, had been nice while it lasted.

 

She wasn’t going to fool herself into thinking it could have been full of romance, or a happily ever after. She knew his… feelings… regarding his sense of self. She also knew he was exceedingly uninterested in the advances of women, and the rumors that he’d really rather have a husband. Just not one that expected him to be a  _ wife _ . She herself wouldn’t have minded a wife… if the Clave would ever actually allow such a thing. But it didn’t, and so she kept her eyes strictly on men. And Alec  _ was _ a man. Maybe not in the eyes of the Clave, but as she continued to learn more about him, she had seen he was absolutely everything a good Shadowhunter man was supposed to be. Just… some parts needed assembly.

 

It had helped that his younger brother had made fast friends with her daughter. Roslyn was the main reason she had accepted Alec’s proposal. Losing John had been a devastating blow, one that she was only just starting to recover from. But the Clave did not look kindly on single women with children born outside of marriage, and she needed a back-up plan for Rose if something happened to her while performing her Shadowhunter duties. The larger branch of the Branwell family had needed heirs, but Lydia wasn’t quite sure they’d take Rose in. She needed to marry- but none of the men agreeing to arranged marriages had been willing to accept an illegitimate child as one of their own.

 

But Alec had seen Rose as a plus. He was understandingly uncomfortable with the idea of being pregnant, all things considered. Lydia couldn’t blame him, pregnancy  _ was _ uncomfortable, for the better part of a year, and the recovery wasn’t particularly easy either. His parents had required children be a part of his married life, and he was honestly  _ fantastic _ with Max, giving her hope that he would also love her daughter just the same. Even if he couldn’t bring himself to love her.

 

After this, though, she supposed it was only a matter of time before he came storming in to cancel the wedding and rip her a new one.

 

As if it wasn’t hard enough for her to arrest Izzy without the knowledge that her fiance would not take it well. Isabelle was many things Lydia was not- headstrong, wild, free, passionate. She, very clearly, loved her siblings above all else. Even if she and Alec were frequently at each other’s throats, there was never any real heat to it. The order to bring Meliorn in had come directly from the Clave. When he revealed the Cup should be somewhere in the Institute and then it  _ wasn’t _ , the order to have him given to the Silent Brothers came directly from the Clave too. Izzy’s mistake had been that she was far too vocal about the injustice of the situation. If she had just kept her mouth shut, Lydia’s report would  _ not _ have included the little tidbit that she’d been sleeping with the faerie, and the order to arrest  _ her _ too would not have come.

 

And Lydia knew she was being unfair, but she honestly liked the Lightwood children and was not happy to be the one to do this.

 

She heard footsteps coming down the hall as she took an overlarge gulp of her water. It was Alec, she knew. She got her confirmation as he swung into the room and asked if they could talk.

 

“So is this where you tell me the engagement’s off?” She wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. Best like a bandage- quick may hurt more all at once, but you’ll get over it faster too.

 

“What? No.”

 

Wait, what? “Why wouldn’t you?” she snorted, not believing him. If it were Roslyn, she would.

 

“Listen, I- I need to talk to you. Off the record.”

 

“Institute Head hat off?” He nodded. “Yeah. Done.”

 

“Listen-” he began again, cutting himself off before mulling over what he wanted to say. “I need to come clean about what happened at the City of Bones.”

 

“Isabelle was there,” she supplied. He nodded again.

 

“Yes,  _ but _ so were Jace, and Clary, and vampires, and werewolves. I think they thought they were stopping a Shadowhunter on Downworlder war.”

 

“Well, they’re not wrong.” Lydia had known the truth of that-  _ if _ Meliorn had actually been delivered, and tortured, and possibly killed, and it was discovered he’d been telling the truth, the Seelie Queen would have absolutely staged her own Uprising. “But we had  _ orders _ , Alec.”

 

“I understand that, I’m not saying anything about that. But I can’t let Izzy be exiled. It’ll destroy her. It’ll destroy  _ me _ .”

 

“In the eyes of the Clave she’s guilty. If you want that to change, you’ll have to find a way to get around that.” And by the Angel did she hope he did.

 

Alec nodded once more, opening and closing his mouth before deciding on an answer. “We know Clary has the Cup. I- I knew where she’d stashed it.” Lydia’s eyes go wide at that. “But it’s not there anymore. I checked after Meliorn said that, before you started looking for it. It was in the safe and it’s gone. But if we can convince her and Jace to give it to the Clave for Izzy’s freedom…?”

 

“Alec,” she scolded, eyebrows knitted together, “If you knew Clary had the Cup, why didn’t you say something about it to me before?”

 

“Jace is my  _ parabatai _ . I  _ couldn’t _ . He- I-”

  
And she softens, a little, because she knows how important the bond between  _ parabatai _ is. “Alright. But if Jace and Clary have the Cup, then… how do we find them?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I apologize for it taking soooooooo long for me to keep publishing this. To make a long story short, in June I suddenly had to be rushed to the ER for possible emergency surgery, and then while it was discovered that I don't need surgery, the health concern that caused all the fuss still needed to be solved, so I've been in and out of doctors' offices and hospitalizations for the past several weeks trying to figure all this out. I'm alright, but personal health comes before fanfics, so some things got pushed to the wayside.
> 
> I'm back to publishing and writing when I can, though. How about that upcoming season finale, eh???
> 
> Beta'd by the lovely BiconBane. As always, thank you for your kind words and encouragements.


	3. Isabelle

The door to Izzy’s room opened suddenly, without a knock, and her brother walked in with a warning from Raj to keep his visit short. She wasn’t sure what Alec was going to say to her after all this- it had been a few hours and he’d presumably been spending it trying to figure out how to get her out of this. She hoped.

 

“Jace took the Cup.”

 

Well, that was an interesting greeting. She looked away from him, knowing he’d read the guilt on her face and knowing there’d be hell to pay for it too. She could lie to just about anybody about just about anything. But not to him. Not to Max either. And they couldn’t lie to her.

 

“Izzy.” Yup, he’s mad. “Did you know? Raziel, Iz, did you  _ help _ him with this? Help him convince Magnus to steal my stele so he could take the Cup?” Oh he knew  _ much _ more than she’d thought he’d figure out in this short of a time. She should have known. Alec had always been the better detective of all of them. Must be all those Sherlock Holmes books he’s read. Some of the  _ only _ mundane books she’d ever convinced him to read. Now she regretted it.

  
  


She didn’t bother denying it, just lifted her head higher. “Jace is doing what he thinks is right.”

 

“What’s  _ right _ , Izzy,” he hissed, “is not putting the entire Shadowworld in danger, putting  _ you _ in danger. We have to get him back here. It’s the only way to save you.”

 

And she swallowed, because now she’s caught between her beloved brothers. Both doing what they personally believed to be right. Both following their own set of morals. Both trying desperately to save the ones they love, but going about it completely different ways. She didn’t bother telling Alec that she needed no convincing to help rescue Meliorn. He didn’t want to hear it and wouldn’t accept it right now away. Instead, she answered with the truth.

 

“Jace took Meliorn back to the Seelie realm. You can’t track him there.”

 

Alec paused for a second. Izzy can see the gears in his mind kick into overdrive as he considered his options. She can see why  _ he’d  _ been the one raised to be the new Head. “Not by normal means.”

 

No. No, no no no. “Absolutely not. Not with your  _ parabatai _ bond. You will weaken it, maybe even break it. I can’t let you do that.”

 

“Jace  _ already _ weakened the bond,” he snapped, “He  _ attacked _ me. How can I trust him after something like that?”

 

Izzy reached for him, trying to convince him not to do this, not to risk his bond with Jace like this. But he’d already turned around and was storming out of the room, mind once again made up and with no one able to talk him down from the ledge. She could only pray that her brothers didn’t wind up killing each other with this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the lovely BiconBane. As always, thank you for your kind words and encouragements.


	4. Lydia

Lydia knew this was an even worse idea than arresting Isabelle. Alec had asked her and Hodge to help him use his  _ parabatai _ bond to track Jace, his stubbornness shining through when he put his hackles up at the both of them for trying to talk him out of it. But when he declared that Jace was dead to him, she knew that a line had been crossed by one, maybe even both of them, somewhere along the way.

 

“Please Alec,” she tried again, “you don’t know how dependant you are on the bond. On each other. If you break the bond, it could destroy you both.” And she  _ really _ didn’t want to watch yet another fiance of hers die while she sat helpless to prevent it.

 

“I  _ have _ to. For Izzy.”

 

And that was his final answer. Hodge had warned him that this would be extremely painful, and they began. Lydia did not  _ have _ a  _ parabatai _ . She had never really considered the option to have one. But this felt wrong, it felt unfair to both men, for her and Hodge to have their private show to the pain shared between them. There had to be another way-

 

Hodge began, and Alec screamed. His head snapped back against the couch, back arching off the cushion as his body instinctively tried to escape the burn. They were too deep in it for Lydia to be able to order them to call it off, but she wanted to. Badly. She didn’t want to explain to Izzy that she’d let her brother die chasing his  _ parabatai _ over the very object that  _ might _ set her free.

 

Alec grit out that he could see Jace, that he knew where he was, before spasming again and screaming his brother’s name. Maybe Lydia didn’t  _ want _ a  _ parabatai _ , after all.

 

It took  _ several hours _ for Alec to recover from it all. Lydia sat by him through it all, answering emails though one of the Institute’s tablets and changing out the cold cloth she had pressed to his head. She had halfway debated having Izzy escorted to them so she could help him recover, thinking he would be more comfortable with his sister, but Alec had grunted that he didn’t mind if she stayed. So she did.

 

By the time he was strong enough to push himself back off the couch, saying he knew that Jace had not moved since he’d called out to him, it was already very late at night. But they ran the mission, running to the entrance into the Seelie realm that Jace, Meliorn, and Clary had used, arriving just in time to see Jace jump through a portal and Meliorn disappear from sight.

 

They were gone.


	5. Isabelle

Izzy jumped as her door burst open, Alec ignoring Raj’s protests and slamming the door shut behind him.

 

“What happened?” She looked him up and down for injuries. He was swaying a little on his feet, but other than that he seemed intact. “Alec, are you and Jace okay?”

 

He shook his head, sitting down on her bed and gesturing for her to join him. With her hand on his, he leaned a bit into her and shuddered. He’d done it, the idiot. He’d used the bond. “No- no our- our  _ parabatai _ bond. It’s. It’s so weak, like a ghost.”

 

“Oh, Alec. What did you do?”

 

“I thought.” He stopped. Started. Stopped again. He was so disoriented. If she didn’t know he absolutely would be at least unconscious if he had snapped the bond entirely, she would have thought he’d broken it forever. As it is, though, the damage may be irreparable. “Lydia and I, we thought we could stop the trial if we gave the Cup to the Clave.”

 

“Lydia  _ helped _ you with this?” How  _ dare _ that woman enable him like this- How dare she risk his life, risk Jace’s, over the Cup that was still in Clary’s possession. How  _ dare _ sh-

 

“Izzy, it’s not like that. It doesn’t matter anyway. Now there’s no way to prevent a trial. We have to go through with it.”

 

She brought his chin up from where it was resting on his chest, making him look up from the ground and at her. They shared a long, knowing look between them. It was true that her brother did things that made her want to strangle him. It was true that he was frequently harassing her about the bad choices she herself had made. But they knew they couldn’t live without each other. That, should she be convicted, he would not hesitate to do whatever it took to prevent the worst from happening.

 

They were siblings. They loved each other. Family was the one thing each of them held dearest.

 

“It’s okay, big brother. I know you tried.”

 

“ _ I’m sorry. _ ”

 

Izzy was suddenly enveloped by warmth as Alec pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on the top of hers. He must have felt the damp on his chest from her tears. He didn’t say anything about it. She didn’t say anything about her wet hair, afterwards, either.

 

They were Lightwoods. They were strong. They’d adapt.

 

They always did.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a very Magnus-absent episode, but it sets up several things important for not just Magnus and Alec, but also for my plans later, so we get the perspective of Lydia and Isabelle to pass the time.
> 
> As always, your encouragement and support is greatly appreciated! :)
> 
> Beta'd by the lovely BiconBane


End file.
